In case this one slipped under your radar this weekend (and if it did, consider yourself lucky) the iPhone has a new "competitor." And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.

The Giorgio Armani smartphone has been formally introduced. It's a mobile offering born of the unique partnership among Microsoft, Samsung, and, you guessed it, fashion guru Giorgio Armani.

In presenting the new smartphone, Jared Newman at Gadget Crave somehow managed to remain relatively "nice" as he politely implied that anyone who spends 700 Euros (or $1,031) could use a lesson in money management.

The bronze detailing is sure to match whatever designer watch you happen to be wearing, and, well, there’s the Armani name on the face just so everyone knows you spent big, but didn’t necessarily shop smart. Indeed, the 700 Euro price tag is designed to separate a fool and his money, but the use of Windows Mobile 6.5 should give you even greater pause.

To be honest, all we really have here is a branded but otherwise completely generic Windows Phone. The specs? Nothing more than what would be in line with basic expectations: 8 GB of storage, a 5-megapixel camera, GPS, microSD card slot, FM Radio, TV-Out, WiFi access, etc. But if it wasn't for the Armani name, endorsement, and branding emblazoned all over this device, do you think anyone could really get away with selling this thing for a thousand bucks?

Still, if you’re a business-minded millionaire (think “new money” vs. “old money”), WinMo’s built-in productivity tools, such as Word and Excel, will keep you connected to work even when you’re hobnobbing at high-class social events. Armani, in a statement, said the phone is “perfect for today’s managers.”

Since the introduction of the iPhone, consumers have warmed to the notion that modern mobile devices are "not just phones anymore." In this particular case, the phone's design is fashionable, but how will the newest addition to the Samsung family measure up in the areas of functionality and level of customization? Time will tell.

If anything, the tragedy of this Armani contraption is that - if proven successful - we could see a fleet of otherwise generic smart phones roll out into the market with some celebrity's name on it, contributing nothing to the mobile world other than an endorsed bucket of bolts that only serves to clutter an increasingly sleek, sophisticated landscape.